Excelsior

Excelsior was first launched in 1999 as sister ship to the Excellent which was commissioned the year before. The Excelsior has a large passenger capacity of 2253 and can keep over 700 vehicles below deck in its garages. She is wonderfully equipped and onboard you will find numerous facilities such as a la carte restaurant, games room, children’s play area, shopping center and much more.

Onboard Cabins / Reserved Seating

387 cabins and 38 luxury suites are available onboard the Excelsior for those who choose that little bit of extra luxury on this GNV ship. The comfy accommodation allows you to put your feet up, get some sleep and relax whilst making the smooth sailing. All cabins come with air conditioning, en suite bathrooms, including a shower and hairdryer. The spacious and sumptuous suites also include air conditioning as well as additions such as a television, radio and mini bar and a large porthole to admire the sea views.

Onboard Food and Drink

This ferry provides travellers with an extensive selection of food and drink options, with an a la carte restaurant, self-service food area and snack bar. The a la carte selection serves up choices for all three courses, with a mix of Mediterranean cuisine, regional foods and international flavours. The self service area contains a fast and informal restaurant setting, with extensive choices to suit all. The snack bar serves up breakfast, lunch, dinner and that something small in between if you are feeling peckish. This includes a variety of meal options and sandwiches, fruit salads and ice creams, to name a few.

Onboard Shopping

The shopping centre provides the chance to purchase gifts and pick up some great bargains on items such as perfume, aftershave, alcohol and other selected items. There are also newspapers, magazines, books, toys and puzzles to help you pass the time on your travels.

Additional Onboard Facilities

The Excellent contains a Games Room with video games or if you are feeling lucky you can try out the slot machines. If you are going away on business, you and your colleagues won’t have to fall behind on deadlines or meetings, as the ship is equipped with a conference centre and meeting rooms. A photographer is also onboard in peak months and you’ll also find a library and a chapel.

Travelling with Children

A designated Children’s Area can be found on Excelsior so you won’t have any issue in keeping your little ones occupied during your journey.

Accessibility

The ship has been adapted throughout to help travellers with restricted mobility and also has four disabled cabins.

Please Note: Whilst we have taken great care in making our Excelsior guide as accurate as possible, onboard facilities, services and entertainment may vary depending on the date and time of year that you travel, facilities mentioned may change without notification and ferry companies reserve the right to operate vessels other than those mentioned at time of booking without prior notification.

Excelsior Reviews

"Over and above any kind of service level I would have expected especially as WE were the cause of in"

So within 20 minutes of departure I heard my name called to find the cabin crew to discover my dog had somehow escaped his cage in the kennel. The team that met me were hugely apologetic for this to happen and took me down to the kennels to get him back into his cage (Obviously they didn't know Benji (the dog)) which I was obviously happy to do.
Upon getting Benji back into his cage it became clear that there was no oversight by anyone in securing the kennel, but in fact Benji had worked out how to open the lock by forcing his muzzle through the honeycomb link behind the lock and pushing hard against the lock.... Although a very proud doggy dad at this point, it was also evident that he could cause himself considerable injury doing this, so the crew and I agreed that we would have to give him access in the kennel and that I would go down with Sebastien every 10 minutes to ensure he was ok.
Cutting a long story short... Benji was of course fine and safe (just not in a cage) and Sebastien religiously ensured that we made sure Benji was ok during the journey despite obviously having other responsibilities.
Throughout Sebastien and the other crew were apologetic, genuinely concerned for Benji's well being as well being accommodating as much as safety regulations and a bit of common sense would allow.
Although we were the centre of inconvenience (I really do apologise!) Sebastien was amazingly courteous and helpful during the entire trip, as far as customer service and genuine care for the animals he was looking after goes he couldn't have demonstrate more professionalism and empathy for our situation.
So... Thanks very much for putting up with a Houdini dog and actually making us feel very well looked after. Sebastien is a keeper, for sure!

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Reviewed by Stephen Marshall who travelled with Grandi Navi Veloci on Excelsior

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"Road trip"

Slept well only because we were absolutely shattered, tv and lights on all night in sleeping area. Food situation diabolical. Poor quality, very limited choice at very limited times. Eatery's and bars randomly open and shut. Difficult to plan food. Great price for ferry. Staff didn't speak to us. I would use again but I would reccomend food be taken with them.

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Reviewed by Mark who travelled with Grandi Navi Veloci on Excelsior

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"Genoa to Palermo"

Travelling to Malta from the United Kingdom with two cats in the car, we have found the most comfortable route is to drive through France and into Italy as far as Genoa where we take the Grandi Navi Veloci ferry to Palermo, in Sicily (and from there on to Malta) thus cutting out the very long drive through Italy to cross to Sicily at Messina.
The ship is well equipped, we have never yet encountered any movement (the ship must have very efficient stabilisers as we have travelled in all weathers at all times of year). We choose to pay extra for a "pet-friendly" cabin where we can have the cats with us (the cheaper option is to put the cats into special kennels on the ship). It's not cheap but well worth the money for nearly 24 hours' sail and a good, comfortable sleep in very comfortable beds after a long journey and we are ready to continue onwards refreshed.

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Reviewed by John who travelled with Grandi Navi Veloci on Excelsior

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"good experience"

Organised,well equiped and comfortable way to use this farry!

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Reviewed by Jiri who travelled with Grandi Navi Veloci on Excelsior

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"departure from Genoa"

In Tangeri Marocco 20/10/2015 - perfect!!!

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Reviewed by Dame who travelled with Grandi Navi Veloci on Excelsior

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"Judge"

All went good, compliments.

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Reviewed by Claudio who travelled with Grandi Navi Veloci on Excelsior

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"Bad food"

They served bad, cold and expensive food.

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Reviewed by Younas who travelled with Grandi Navi Veloci on Excelsior

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"We liked it."

We were foot passengers (two people). Boarding in Barcelona was organized and on time. We got the room key easily and found the room (3 person cabin). Room including toilet/shower was clean. Plenty big for 2 people (we've stayed in smaller rooms in London!). We carried on our own food, so we did not eat except we had a cappucino in the morning of arrival. The boat in general was ok. Some of the facilities like the pool and different entertainment rooms were closed and not very clean. But we did not care much. Arrival was slightly earlier than scheduled and again was organized in a similar manner as the boarding in Barcelona so it was not a total chaos.
The only really annoying thing was that they make you wake up at 6am and sit around the lounges for more than 1 hour before arrival.

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Reviewed by Kirk who travelled with Grandi Navi Veloci on Excelsior

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"Good service, a time saver."

I just sailed with a Pullman seat, a little noisy but not too crowded and I was able to get a decent nights sleep. We arrived early and all went well.

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Reviewed by Randolph who travelled with Grandi Navi Veloci on Excelsior